Watchdog Report: Wisconsin teachers feel budget-cutting pressure

Feb. 13, 2011

Written by

Ben Jones

Post-Crescent Madison bureau chief

About this report

In light of growing pressure on school districts to curb spending, The Post-Crescent analyzed data about salary, benefits and experience for public school employees in Wisconsin for the 2009-10 school year, the most recent for which complete information is available. The newspaper used information collected by the state Department of Public Instruction from the school districts. In the first of two parts of a Watchdog Report beginning today, The P-C presents information about teachers. NEXT SUNDAY: How pay and benefits stack up for school administrators.

By the numbers

$49,051: Average salary for Wisconsin teachers in 2008-09, when the national average was $53,910.$49,000: Average salary for Fox Valley teachers for the 2009-10 school year. The range was from $40,242 in the Stockbridge district to $61,363 in Kaukauna.2%: Average increase in salary for Fox Valley teachers for 2009-10, amounting to about $1,100.$48,315: Average salary for all private-sector workers in Wisconsin in May 2009, slightly lower than the salary for public-sector workers, $48,348.$28,504: Average fringe benefits costs for a teacher in the Appleton Area School District in 2009-10, the highest amount in the Fox Valley. Kimberly Area School District had the lowest fringe benefit average at $20,490.

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MADISON — Given the devastating effects of the Great Recession, even a modest increase in pay or benefits from your employer is something most anyone would cheer about these days.

A typical public schoolteacher in the Fox Valley had that opportunity last year when salary increases averaged 2 percent, The Post-Crescent found in analyzing pay and benefits information for the 2009-10 school year, the most recent for which complete data is available from the state.

Because of sweeping changes proposed during the past few days, though, it's difficult to imagine any warm feelings lingering.

"Given the financial situation of the state, the financial situation of school districts and, really, the state of the economy, I guess I wouldn't expect that teachers would be looking at very big increases if any increases at all this year," said Dale Knapp, research director at the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, a private, nonpartisan government research group based in Madison. "It's a really tough time. It's not just the public sector, it's everywhere."

Tough indeed.

On Friday, Gov. Scott Walker unveiled a budget repair bill that would require public state employees, including teachers, to pay thousands of dollars more each for benefits, limit wage increases and put an end to many of the collective bargaining rights that have long helped them protect their jobs.

Earlier in the week, the state's largest teachers union, the Wisconsin Education Association Council, announced that it wants to scrap its traditional step-based pay system for teachers and instead tie pay to performance.

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"We are asking public employees to make the same sort of concessions to pensions and health care that overwhelmingly people in the private sector make," Walker said.

The state faces an estimated $3 billion deficit in the next two-year budget, and school funding is a big target. It's easy to understand why. State taxpayer aids to public schools totaled more than $5 billion, or about 40 percent of general state spending, last year, Knapp said. And, at the local level, salaries make up about 80 percent of a typical school district's budget.

In its review, The Post-Crescent examined state Department of Public Instruction data for districts statewide, including 19 in the Fox Valley. Some of what the newspaper found:

A typical Valley teacher earned about $49,000 in salary last year. Average salaries in Valley districts ranged from $40,242 in Stockbridge to $61,363 in Kaukauna.

Valley teachers earned an average of about $24,000 in fringe benefits. Those costs ranged from $20,490 in Kimberly to $28,504 in Appleton.

Teacher pay in the Valley went up by an average of about 2 percent, or about $1,100, from the prior year. Because salary schedules take into account experience and education, not all teachers saw a 2 percent raise. Some earned more, some earned less.

On average, teachers in the Valley have more than 14 years of experience. Marion teachers had the least amount of experience, an average of about seven years. Teachers in Waupaca had the most experience, an average of 19 years.

Changes coming

The WEAC proposal would create a system with "career ladders," which would provide teachers with opportunities to earn performance pay. Teachers could earn more money by taking on additional responsibilities or working in hard-to-fill positions or schools.

"The goal is to attract and retain high-quality educators, and performance pay can be used to reward excellence," WEAC president Mary Bell said in a statement.

Any pay structure changes would be bargained locally.

WEAC also proposes a teacher evaluation system that could lead to the removal of underperforming veteran teachers who fail to improve.

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Walker, a Republican, praised the union's plan Wednesday, thanking the teachers for "stepping up and recognizing that one of the best ways that we can improve our system of education … is by finding a way for each of our school districts across the state to be able to reward and recognize and acknowledge those teachers who excel, and be able find a way to make sure that those who are not living up to that standard find the tools they need … to get up to that level."

Walker's budget repair bill, likely to be considered by the Republican-controlled Legislature in the coming days, limits collective bargaining rights for most public employees to wages, and caps total wage increases to inflation unless approved in a referendum.

The bill also requires public employees who are members of the Wisconsin Retirement System to contribute 50 percent of annual pension payments.

That would work out to about 5.8 percent of an employee's salary, or about $2,800 for a typical public schoolteacher in Appleton.

"The bottom line is I have great respect for the men and women who work as public servants in the state and local level here in the state of Wisconsin," Walker said. "I think that when people look at the totality of what we are proposing, they will understand that we have great respect, even in terms of the process we are using here today."

'No fat rabbits'

Miles Turner, executive director of the Wisconsin Association of District Administrators, said people like to blame school employees for having high salaries. But he said that even when benefits are included, school compensation in the state ranks 15th or 16th in the country.

"It's not like our public employees are overpaid," he said.

Turner said caps that limit how much money a school can take in have been in place for two decades and have caused deficits for schools. Districts already have made significant cuts to administration, teacher staffing and programs and, in some cases, have closed schools.

"There are no fat rabbits in the hat anymore," Turner said.

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Corey Otis, a communication arts teacher at Appleton East High School, said teacher salaries haven't kept up with inflation in the past 20 years.

"Not even close," said Otis, who is the WEAC Fox Valley president.

In the past, Otis said unions bargained for good benefits in lieu of salary increases. But in recent years, they made concessions on benefits as well.

"We don't have the Cadillac plans anymore," he said.

If teacher compensation drops further, so will the quality of applicants, Otis said, and some will leave the profession.

"They would probably think about faring for themselves and their families and would say, 'I'm going take a job somewhere where I can more adequately take care of my family and the bills.'"

Otis said it's rewarding to work with children and see them succeed.

"My fear is those types of rewards don't pay the bills and we will lose good people," he said.

At a crossroads

Christina Brey, a spokeswoman for WEAC, said the quality of children's education is at stake.

"Our teachers have been looking at how they can help their districts still provide compensation that will attract and keep highly qualified teachers in the classroom, yet be responsible to the taxpayers," she said.

Brey said adjusted for inflation, Wisconsin teachers earn $2,000 less than they did in 1992. And, she said, from 1987-2007, when the per-capita income of Wisconsin residents rose by 150 percent, teacher salaries increased by 72 percent. Brey said there's an "unbelievable value" in providing quality schools to the state's young people.

"Let's not forget, when we talk about jobs, jobs, jobs, that it's very important to business that we have schools with a solid foundation that are creating a work force that they can utilize," she said.

In the Appleton Area School District, chief financial officer Don Hietpas said revenue limits have challenged the district for years. Appleton has about 100 fewer staff members than it did a few years ago and many of the district's computers are seven or eight years old.

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Hietpas doesn't expect good budget news from the state.

"Everything that we are hearing is education is not going to go untouched," he said. "I think we're probably pretty realistic. The budget scenario that we have put together has been pretty conservative in terms of revenue."

John Ashley, executive director of the Wisconsin Association of School Boards, said public education is at a crossroads.

"Most school boards around the state are bracing themselves for making some very tough decisions when it comes to education and paying for it," he said.

Districts realize they will have to "help with their share of pain," but are also seeking flexibility and mandate relief from the state, Ashley said.

It's important to remember, he said, that if Wisconsin is going to create jobs and spur economic growth, it needs educated residents.

"To the extent to which we can hold education harmless, that's the best way to ensure that we have the people trained with the backgrounds to lead the innovative job creation that the president and the governor talk about."